The Way I Do
by IWillFindMyDreams
Summary: Taz and Up's story from the beginning, starting from Taz's Quinceañera. Rated T for language and violence
1. A New Beginning

THE WAY I DO.

CHAPTER 1: A NEW BEGINNING.

**A/N: So, this is my second fan-fiction, and I've decided to write Taz and Up's story from the beginning. I read "And They Thought She'd Never Make It" by HiddenAngelHeart and she had this nice idea of choosing a song that would represent the chapter, so I thought I would do it too since I'm a musician and I relate everything I do to music. I hope you enjoy this, it's probably quite lame but I've just started writing fan-fictions so there's space for improvement. Please review, I would love to hear what you have to say about this :)**  
><strong>Enjoy 3 <strong>

**P.S. I'm quite busy with school, so I haven't had time to read it again. If there are corrections to make, please tell me :)**

Song of the Chapter:

Running Away - Midnight Hour

So I'm running away I'm leaving this place

Yeah, I'm running away I'm running away

And faster than you can follow me From this lonely place

And farther than you can find me I'm leaving Yeah, I'm leaving today

Tasaria Rodriguez was sitting on her bed. It was 6 o'clock in the morning and she was already awake. She knew it would be a good idea to sleep, but she couldn't. She was too excited. And scared. It was her Quincea era after all.

She didn't want to celebrate, because that would mean wearing a dress. A pink dress. And she hated pink. And dresses. And it was even worse when they were together, sparkly and girly. Damn, she would feel sick. What was the point of wearing a pink dress? Ok, she was becoming a woman, but women hardly ever wore pink sparkly dresses. She wished she could've at least chosen the colour, but her mom had done everything. Taz pulled the hair band out of her hair and let if fall on her shoulders. She couldn't stand her long hair, but her mom wanted her to keep it like that. That was one of the good things of finally being fifteen. She was a woman, she could finally do what she liked. For her mother's sake she decided to keep her hair long just one more day, then she would cut it. -Tasaria?- Her mother was awake. She came in trying not to wake Tasaria's dad and her brother and sister. -¿estas listo?- She said, and sat on the bed next to Tasaria. -No- Tasaria replied, and got up, staring out of the window. -Estoy seguro de que va a estar bien- She said. Damn, why couldn't she leave her alone? Tasaria thought. -No lo har , todo va a salir mal.- Tasaria sighed and turned back to her mother. She looked so tired. They'd spent hours learning to dance for the Quincea era and her mother had been up until late to make sure the party would be wonderful. Tasaria felt bad for not appreciating what her mother was doing. She walked back to her mother and sat on the bed next to her. -Where is the dress?- She whispered in English. Her mother smiled slightly. -In the living room, i was ironing it. I'll go and get it.- She squeazed Tasaria's hand before leaving and walked silently downstairs. Tasaria got up and stood in front of the mirror. She shook her head and sat on the chair next to her desk. She took out a little box, one she'd never opened before. It contained make-up. She opened and stared at the different colours, slightly disgusted.  
>Why did people wear this stuff? It was disgusting! Her mother came in with the dress followed by Tasaria's sister Mercedes. -Buenos dias- She told her sister, and Mercedes smiled at her, pulling out a brush. Dammit, Tasaria hated brushing her hair. It hurt, and she never did it, she prefered keeping it wild. Mercedes and their mother went to work on Tasaria's hair, brushing it, straighting it and curling some parts of it, so she had beautiful curls around her face and straight hair tied up at the back.<br>Tasaria stared into her own brown eyes and sighed. This was like a torture. Mercedes took the make-up box and smirked at her. Tasaria smacked her sister's arm lightly and leaned down on the chair, wondering when all of this would finish. The sun was high in the sky when Tasaria was finally allowed to get up and check herself out in the mirror. She looked so un-Tasaria like she frowned, and stared blankly at her reflection. She wasn't saying her sister hadn't done a good job, it was just that all this pink make-up on her face seriously disgusted her. She shook her head sighing again and smiled weakly at her mother and sister. -Aqu est tu vestido!- Mercedes grinned widely at Tasaria and handed her the dress. -Voy a preparar el almuerzo- Her mother said, and left the two girl alone. Tasaria realised she hadn't had breakfast.  
>She was supposed to be hungry, but there was something in her stomach that made her feel sick. She wasn't hungry at all. Something else was welling up in her stomach, she had a bad feeling.<p>

* * *

><p>Tasaria sat on one of beautiful benches that today decorated her garden. She'd already danced with her dad and most of her cousin, she was tired and just wanted to go to bed. That was when everything exploded. Suddenly the garden was full of dust, screams, fire and them, the robots.<p>

They'd got here after all, even if the Starship Rangers were guarding the village. Dammit. -Hijos de puta!- She shouted and ran to look for her knife. She found it under the same stone where she always left it. As soon as she took it out an enourmous arm smashed her against the wall of her house. She felt pain everywhere, but she wouldn't give up. A moan escaped her lips when she got up, but she stood nonetheless and screamed in frustration. The robots came charging towards her. She ducked under their legs and ran as fast as she could.

They were following her, but she wouldn't give up. Suddenly she freezed.-Mama...- She whispered, looking at her mother's dead body. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and she heard the robots come behind her. She took a deap breath and turned around. The biggest robot started shooting against her. She ducked and dodged the lasers, but she couldn't dodge them all. They hit her on the cheek, on the legs and there was a large wound on her stomach. Tasaria decided that she was going to die anyway so she charged against the robots and tried to stab them with her knife. -Robots de mierda!- She shouted, but suddenly an arm lifted her in the air. Tasaria was shouting curses at whatever robot she saw,  
>but they didn't seem to hear. They carried her to a big tree near her house, and tied her arms together. Then they lifted her into the air again and tied her to the tree.<br>Tasaria knew she was going to die, but continued shouting curses at the robots.

Suddenly something hit her. -Maldita sea!- She shouted. The robots had sticks in their hands and were using her like a piñata. And then she saw them. The Starship Rangers were here. Maybe she would survive. Almost instantly the robots were all on the ground dead. They had all been killed by one ranger. The others were still staring at him, but he was still staring at her. His eyes were as blue as the ocean, a beautiful blue,  
>the most beautiful colour she'd ever seen. Then everything went black.<p>

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Up and his rangers had just reached a small Mexican village where the robots had attacked. There hadn't been much to save, they'd come too late. The Lieutenant was quite angry, it was yet another village that had been destroyed. The robots were taking control and destroying everything they could find. The Robot Wars had caused already millions of dead, even the Starship Rangers were losing too many soldiers. Up was walking slowly across the devasted landscape, looking at the burnt down houses, the dead corpses that laid scattered around on the ground. Up kicked a stone and let out a small frustrated sound. He'd had enough, he wanted these fucking wars to end. Suddenly, he saw a body dangling from a tree, and he thought that it was the robots playing with a corpse to umiliate humans even more. He walked slowly to them, at least he would kill them! But the body (it was a girl) let out an angry sound as they hit her with a stick. As soon as Up realised the girl hanging from the tree was alive, he started shooting without thinking. She could be saved.<p>

She had to be saved. He started shooting madly, but still with a certain grace in his movements that made him look like he was dancing, like he'd fought a thousand times. Well, he had done it. The robots were on the ground dead in a matter of seconds. The girl was staring at him. She had dark brown eyes. She was wearing a pink dress but it was all teared and she was all cut. She'd been putting up a fight. Up kept staring at her, he was fascinated. It looked like she was twelve, and she'd managed to fight five big robots. Suddenly her eyes became glassy and they closed. Up ran to her and took out his knife. She was so tiny, he catched her easily when she fell.

He lay her to the ground and she started to wake up. -Are...are you okay?- He asked. He felt strange. The girl kept staring at him and didn't reply. Obviously she wouldn't, thought Up, she'd just fought five robots and watched her family die. She was obviously not okay. She slowly got up and took in her surroundings. Up thought she would cry, it wouldn't be strange. After all what was (probably) her family, lay dead on the ground. But she didn't cry. She ran.

* * *

><p>Tasaria's hair was flying around her face. The curls had tumbled down during the fight and the make up was smeared on her face. The rangers were calling for her to stop, but she didn't want to.<p>

She knew she wouldn't last long in her condition, she'd fought five robots, been strung up on a tree like a piñata and hit her with sticks. But she wanted to run away, run away from her devasted house, her destroyed family, the dead robots and the ranger with the blue eyes. She fell. Damn. She realized someone was behind her. Somehow she knew who it would be. The same ranger helped her up. -Are you okay?- He repeated. -Do jou really expect me to be okay?- She spat, but let him help her up. The ranger didn't reply, -Can you walk?- He asked her. He had a very heavy accent, Southern or something like that. -S¡.- She replied, and got up to prove it. She fell again. -Come here.- He said.

She glared at him, but she realized she really couldn't do it, so she walked to him unsteadily, and fell in front of him. He cathced her just before she hit the ground. He took her in his arms and stared right into her eyes. -What's your name?- He asked timidly. Tasaria was concentrating on his eyes. She'd never seen blue eyes before, and she was amazed. They were so beautiful. -Tasaria- She replied, and he smiled. -Can I just call you Taz?- -S¡.- She said again, then added: -What about jou?- -My name is Up, miss.- -What de hell kind of a name is dat?- She said, staring at him strangely. He laughed slightly and carried her back to the other rangers. -Where are jou going?- Taz asked the man, when they all started to make their way back, Up stil carrying her. -To our Starship, to see what we can do with you!- He replied, smiling. -I wanna be a Starship Ranger!- She gasped, and the Up stared at her. -Really?- But he was interrupted by another ranger, who said: -You? A Starship Ranger? Ain't you a little bit too small girl?- -Shut up Adams!- Up said, and the ranger fell silent. -This girl just survived a fight against five big robots, I think she could manage it!- Taz smiled, a real smile now. but Up added: -Unfortunately I'm not the one who decides, so we'll take you to the Admiral as soon as we get to the Starship and see what we can do.- Taz asked him to put her down, and walked a bit behind them, taking one last look at her now destroyed village.


	2. Got to prove who I am

The Way I Do

Chapter 2: Got to prove who I am.

**A/N: So, here is the second chapter of my Fan-Fiction! :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate it so much! :D I just wanted to say that when I wrote the original chapter I had inserted the particular letters in Pinata and Si, but I don't know why they got deleted when I uploaded it here D: I also forgot to say that if the Spanish is wrong you can blame Google Translate, not me :3 Thanks also to HiddenAngelHeart for the idea of the songs, check out her fan-fictions, they are so beautiful :)**

**Ugh, in the first chapter I forgot the disclaimer .**

Disclaimer: I own every character except Taz and Up, and Glee, and everything else coming from the show that might be mentioned here D:

Song Of The Chapter:

The Climb - Miley Cyrus

There's always gonna be another mountain I'm always gonna wanna make it move Always gonna be a uphill battle Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there Ain't about what's waiting on the other side It's the climb

Taz walked behind the rangers, wanting to forget the images that clouded her mind. Her mama lying her dead, her dad too, and Mercedes. She pushed back the tears, she didn't want to cry, it would make her seem weak.  
>They reached the Starship. It was the biggest ship she'd ever seen. "Taz?" Up called, and she turned to him. She liked the fact he called her Taz, and she knew he would never use her real name. She knew that if she became a Ranger her life would change completely, and she liked to think that Tasaria was forgot now, and Taz was the only one left. Her name was the first thing that divided her from the girl who weared a pink dress, who was so weak she could be strung up to a tree like a pi ata by five robots. That girl was dead now. She was going to become a new girl, one that wouldn't break down in front of everything, who fought the robots with no emotion and killed them just like Up had killed the ones who were killing her.<br>She returned to Earth when Up called her again and invited her to step on the ship. She did so without esitating, and scolded herself when she realized her heart was beating madly in her chest. Up's hand was on her arm as he accompanied her through the enourmous ship, then he heard him whisper. "How old are you?" She stared at him and replied "Fifteen, señor."

She knew he thought she was younger than that, and cursed her height silently in her head. "What about jou?" She asked, curious. "I'm twenty one, Taz." He replied, and sighed. "Jou look much older dan dat." Taz said, before she could stop herself. Up shook his head slighly and replied "I know, it's the robots' fault. You on the other side look a lot younger!" She glared at him and he chuckled. He stopped in front of a very elegant door and knocked. "Come in." A low voice replied. Up opened the door and pushed Taz slightly so she would go in.

"Who's this girl, Up?" The man said in annoyance. "Why is she here?" Taz went red but Up stretched an arm in front of her so she wouldn't attack him. "She is Taz." Up replied simply. Once again Taz thanked him for not using her name. "We found her in the village, she was the only survivor." The man, whose sign read "Commander James Thomson", looked slighly shocked but composed himself straight away. " She was the only survivor? Did she hide somewhere?" Up looked disgusted. "No, she didn't! She fought the damn robots! With a stick!" Taz was only controlling herself because she knew attacking a Commander would certainly not get her in the Academy, but she was growing more red by the minute. The Commander looked a bit shocked. "She fought them?" "Yeah, she fucking fought them!" Up spat, and the Commander glared at him. "I don't approve of your language in front of me Lieutenant, and you still haven't explained why she's here." Taz decided it was time for her to speak. Up was about to respond, but she was quicker. "I want to be a Starship Ranger."

Thomson was evidently trying to suppress his laughter, and Up looked furious. "You, a Starship Ranger?" Thomson sneered. "How old are you, twelve?" "I'm fifteen, señor." "And you think you're tough enough to be a Starship Ranger." "Si, I do think so."  
>Thomson kept looking at her, and Up was calming down. The Commander finally spoke. "Listen to me, little girl." Taz, who'd gone back to the normal colour, went red again at the last comment. "This is what we're going to do." Taz was listening intently.<br>"The next stop is in a week's time, we're going to stop at the refugee camp to provide food and clothes to the small group of survivors of Mexico. You have one week to show what you've got, prove that you're tough enough to be a Starship Ranger and I'll let you in the Academy. If in a week's time the results aren't good, you're going to the refugee camp. Deal?"  
>"Deal." Taz spat. Up put a hand on her shoulder. "Dismissed." The Commander said, waving them away with his hand.<p>

* * *

><p>Up stormed out of the room. Taz followed. "I'm going to show dat hijo de puta what I've got!" Taz said and glared at the door that had just closed behind them. "Taz!" Up warned her. Taz fell silent and stared at him. Up liked the colour of her eyes. "Taz, you've got to be careful, as you've seen, they don't approve this kind of language here." Taz looked at him strangely. "Jou know I cursed?"<p>

Up sighed. "Of course I do, Taz. I don't know much Spanish, but I know a few curses that I hear when people are fighting the robots. I just work out they're curses from how the people use them." He smiled at her, and she laughed slightly. But Up went serious again. "However, this is not time to joke about this stuff, you're going to have to learn to fight. We need you to stay in the Academy and become a Ranger!" "We?" Taz asked, and Up looked at a loss for words, before adding "Of course, I'm going to be your mentor! Someone has to tell you what to do!"  
>"Jou're going to help me? " Taz's eyes shined.<p>

"Of course I am! You've got to show that hijo de puta what you've got!" He winked at her, and she grinned. They walked together to the gym, and Up stared at Taz while she walked around checking the weights and the punching bags, finally stopping in front of the ring where the fights were held. "Fight me." Up stared at Taz strangely. "You want to fight?"  
>"Yeah, I do!" Up smirked and shook his jacket off. Taz was swinging her fists together. "Ready?" Up asked her. He wanted to see what she was capable of. Taz pulled her hair in a ponytail and stepped on the mat. "Show me what you've got, Taz!" Taz threw herself at him, and tried to punch him. He blocked everything. Taz got angrier by the minute, and punched him even harder. Finally she hit him in the stomach and he stepped back. "Finally!"<br>Up teased her. She glared at him, but he blocked her arms before she could punch him again and pushed her to the floor. " Ha tenido suficiente?" Up fell on the mat and sat down next to her. "And that would mean?" She smirked and looked at him. "Have you had enough?" He glared at her, but her smirk made him laugh, and she started laughing too.

A/N: Oh, this is so lame! It's short and stupid D: Hope you'll forgive me for this, I'll try and do better in the next one! Please don't kill me :S


	3. Training

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 3: Training

A/N: So, here I am with a new chapter :D I'm sorry for the second chapter, it sucked D: I hope I'll do better with this one, and make it a bit longer... (If Spanish is wrong blame Google Translate)

Disclaimer: I own most of the characters except Taz, Up, G.L.E.E.

Enjoy :)

Song Of The Chapter:

No Way - Team Starkid

There's no way I'm gonna take another option,  
>no way I am gonna settle with a loss!<br>No way I'm gonna sit around and watch,  
>there's no, no way...<p>

There's no way you're gonna find me in the background,  
>no damn way you gonna see me satisfied!<br>No way they're ever gonna make me back down,  
>no, no way...<p>

As soon as Taz walked in the hall room next morning, everyone stopped talking. They stared at her. She didn't say anything, she just glared. Up came in straight after her and accompanied her to an empty table. Everyone started talking again, but kept glancing at her. She ignored it and looked at Up. "Ready for training?" He asked her, smiling. "Yes." She smirked. "I think you'll get in the Academy easily." Up told her. She looked up from her plate and stared at him. "Jou really think so?" Up nodded. "You're doing very well, for just one day of training. "But jou beat me." She interrupted.  
>"Yes, but you lasted ten minutes, that's more than all the other ensigns can do! And you've got no training, while I've been training since I was sixteen!" Taz was pretty satisfied, so she got up. "Follow me, idiota." She walked out of the hall and went to the gym, not even checking to see if Up was behind her, knowing he surely was. When she stepped in the gym though, she realised something was wrong. "Why are jou here?" She asked Thomson, glaring at him. "Well, I told you I wanted to see if you really had the abilities to become a Starship Ranger, so here I am!" She kept glaring at him, even as Up came in and pushed her gently to the fighting area. "Wanna see what she's got?" Up asked, then got into fighting position. Taz was fuming, she didn't want that idiota to be in the room, at her second match. Fine, her first one had turned out quite well, but she guessed it was the adrenaline of fighting the Robots. She'd been hit with sticks while hanging on a tree, but she'd still managed to fight Up, and keep up with him for ten minutes. Yes, definitely the adrenaline, she thought, getting in a fighting position too. But now, she thought, with that idiota watching her she wasn't sure she was going to manage another fight like the first one. After all, he would decide what to do with her, so she wanted to be stronger before fighting with him watching. She attacked Up, but was distracted and fell to the ground after a well-placed punch from Up.<br>She got up, feeling even angrier, and charged Up again, only to be punched in the stomach and fly to the floor again. Thomson was laughing, and this made her really furious. She pictured the robots in front of her, the dead bodies of her mama, her dad and Mercedes. She threw herself at Up with such violence she knocked the wind out of him as he fell to the ground. Even the Commander had jumped back. She needed to get in the Academy, it was the only hope she had for the future, she couldn't lose it... She jumped back as Up tried to kick her leg and pulled him to the ground, jumping on his back and blocking his arms with her legs, but she still wasn't strong enough to stop him. He threw her off him and charged, stopping when he saw the look on Taz's face. Taz was so angry she was nearly crying, and she was really tired. She still wasn't strong enough to beat Up, she knew it. She collapsed to the floor, as Thomson crept silently out of the room, and Up ran to her.  
>"Are you alright?"<br>Taz nodded, and tried to get up. Up picked her up gently, and she was to tired to protest.  
>"How much did you sleep last night." "Two hours" She said, and he shook his head. He didn't ask her why she was so angry while fighting him, and she was glad for that. She hoped he had understood why, and that's what why he wasn't asking. "You really need to sleep, Taz." She looked at him, captured by his blue eyes. "You can't expect to fight well if you only sleep two hours! You really need to rest, it's important!" Taz was still looking at him, and decided she could tell him the truth of why she wasn't sleeping. "Nightmares." She said. He stared sadly at her. "What about?" He asked, and at first she was tempted not to tell him, wanting to keep it a secret, but she knew that he would guess either way, after all it had only been yesterday. "Robots." She said. "Mi familia, dead." She realised he'd carried her back to his room. "Those hijos de puta destroyed everything I had!" She said, her anger returning. She wasn't going to tell him what else was always in her dreams.<br>He put her gently on his couch. "I'll tell you what: when you have nightmares you can come here and we can watch a movie or something!" She looked up at him, and asked: "Really?" She really hoped he'd meant that, it would be so comforting.  
>"Yes! What films do you like?" He asked her. She got up and walked to where he was going through the DVDs. "Harry Potter?" He asked. "Or The Chronicles Of Narnia?" She was staring at another one.<br>"What about this one?" She said, handing him the DVD. "Karate Kid?" He said. "Yeah, why not? I love this movie!" She grinned and ran on to the couch. "But I meant when you had nightmares!" He protested, but was smiling. She looked at him, and he put the DVD in the movie player. He then sat next to her on the couch, and the movie began.

* * *

><p>Up was carrying Taz to her bedroom. She'd fallen asleep while they were watching the Karate Kid, next to him. He gently put her on the bed, and kissed her forehead. He knew this was wrong, he couldn't be friends with anyone, it's too hard and painful when you're a Starship Ranger fighting in the Robot Wars, but the girl was different. She was the first one that had managed to make him laugh after month of pain, anger, stress, everything the robots had left. He closed the door of her room and walked back to his.<br>He heard screaming. He opened his eyes, but the screaming had stopped. Thinking he had imagined it, he closed his eyes again.  
>Another scream. "Dammit." He said, and got up. He recognized who was screaming. He ran to the room next to his and opened the door. Taz was trashing around in her sleep, crying. "Taz! Wake up!" He kept trying to wake her, but she was still crying and shouting. Finally he managed to wake her, shaking her very hard. "Taz! Are you okay?" She stared at him, and realised what was happening. "Si, I'm fine." She said, and wiped the tears from her face. "I'm fine." She repeated.<br>"Do... Do you want to come and see a movie?" He asked her uncertainly. "No, no, I just want to go back to sleep." Up sighed, shaking his head. He stared at her and walked to the door. "Are you sure?" He asked one last time. "Si." She said, not looking at him, staring at the wall. He walked out of the door and shook his head again. He knew she wanted to be tough, that she felt embarassed because of the nightmares and the screaming, but he didn't blame her for them, she had gone through a lot, everybody would have nightmares. But she felt too tough to admit it. He thought that when she'd accepted to come to his room for the nighmares she would open up to him, but she still felt too tough for that. He entered his bedroom and fell asleep again, hoping that he wouldn't hear the screaming again.  
>Up woke up next morning, and remembered Taz's screams. He jumped up and got dressed.<br>He ran to her room, and knocked a few times. No reply. He opened the door, just to find the room empty. He dashed out of the room, wondering where she'd gone. He was going to the hall room when it hit him. He walked to the gym and opened the door. Taz was hitting the punching bag ferociously, probably picturing something in her mind. She probably didn't hear him come in because she kept punching the bag without turning. Then she turned and stopped. "Up." She said. "Taz, why are you acting like this?" Up asked her, walking up to her. "Acting like what?" She asked, and turned back to the punching bag. "Taz, you've still got four days to prove to that idiot that you can make it, you just have to concentrate!" Taz had started punching the bag again, with an expression that told Up she would kill Thomson if he came in right now. "I can't do it, Up, I can't! I can't do it when he's there, I can't concentrate, he laughs at me and I just want to punch him!" She said, and fell to the ground, holding back her tears.

Up walked to her and sat next to her. He forced her chin up so she was staring at him in the eyes. Her dark brown eyes were a bit red. "You can do it." He said firmly, and continued: "As I told you before, you're the only one who kept up with me for ten minutes, why the hell shouldn't you get in the Academy? You're being really stubborn, I don't understand why his presence disturbs you so much, you should just ignore him! Can't you see that's what he wants?"  
>Taz kept staring at him. "You know, there is something you always have to keep in mind. One important thing of being a Starship Ranger is this: you always have to get back up. No matter how hard you get knocked down, you just have to get back up." He told her, one thing he'd understood when he was at the Academy. "Really?" Taz asked him, not convinced. "Yes, that is what you need to do. They will try to umiliate you, they will try to make you feel weak. But you're stronger than them, you have to show them taht you can beat them, that you'll always get back up. Do you understand me, Taz?" He asked her, finally. "Yes, I do." She said, after a long silence. "I will get back up." She said, new confidence in her eyes.<p>

"And, by the way-" He added. "-I understand why you get nightmares! You can come to me when you wake up at night, I told you!" He smiled at her. "Is it just because jou're scared at night?" She smirked, and he laughed. "I'm serious!" He said, but she kept smirking at him. "Admit it." She told him. "No, I'm not the one who's scared, Taz!" "Yes, jou are!" She started laughing too, then got up and walked to the fight area. "Fight me." She said, and he walked up to her. "Ready to lose?" He taunted her. "Si." She said, and started towards him.


	4. The Test

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 4: The Test

A/N: So, I hope you liked the last chapter,I think it turned out a bit better than the second one, even though hardly anything happens! I've got bigger plans for chapters to come, but it will take a while to get there. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate that :)  
>As usual, if Spanish is wrong blame Google ;)<p>

Disclaimer: Taz, Up and GLEE belong to Starkid D:

Song Of The Chapter: I Was Right - New Years Day

Oh oh...  
>It'd mean everything, just to hear you say to me That I was right, and you were wrong It's not that hard go on, go on<p>

Taz woke up with a start. Her alarm was on. She punched the clock and groaned. She hadn't slept all night, and when she'd finally got to sleep it was too late and she had to get up. Damn, she thought, pulling herself out of bed and walking to the tiny bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair fell all over her face, and on her shoulders. It was a mess. She couldn't stand it. She ran back to her room and grabbed a pair of scissors.  
>Today was the day in which Thomson decided what to do with her, and she was going to get in the Academy, she had to. She knew she was tough, but she also wanted to look like she was tough. And her long curls weren't exactly the right thing to prove that. She went back to the bathroom and started working on her hair. Half an hour later she came out of her room, wearing the smallest T-shirt she could find and some large camouflage trousers. She walked to Thomson's office, and Up was already in front of the Commander's door. He seemed a little shocked when he saw her hair. It was cut short, kept out of her face with a red bandana. "Nice style" He told her, winking. "Thank jou." She said, smiling. Then she returned serious as she knocked on the door. "Come in." The usual, annoying voice said. Taz stepped in and Thomson looked at her, his gaze going to her hair. He smirked. "Are you ready?" He asked her, and got up. He walked to the door before Taz had a chance to answer. "Si." She finally said. "Where are jou going?" She asked. Also Up was staring strangely at the Commander. "To the training room." The Commander replied, and walked out of the room. Taz looked at Up.<br>"What does he mean?" She asked him, feeling again the usual hatred against the Commander. "I don't know, but I guess he wants to test you." He replied, and her mouth opened slightly. "A test?" She spat. "Yes, to see what your abilities are." He led her to the Training room, and they entered together. A muscular ensign was sitting in the fighting area. "Who is that guy?" Up asked, anticipating Taz's question.  
>"Ensign Williams." The Commander replied. "Taz, you're going to fight him." Taz froze. She looked at Up and he nodded. "Okay". She said, and walked to Williams. "I'm sorry, I just have to do this." He said, smirking.<br>"Don't be, I'll show jou." She said dangerously. She threw herself against the ensign, but he blocked her and threw her on the floor. She got up.  
>She stopped. They started walking in a circle, crouched in a fighting position and glaring at each other. Taz was thinking at what Up at told her during the various fights.<p>

"You need to find the places where your enemy is weak." He had told her, when she'd tried to punch him on the shoulder.

His face, Taz thought. He kept his hands over his chest in a protective way, but his face and legs were uncovered. Suddenly she came up with a plan. She charged him, with her hands up, like she wanted to hit his face.  
>He blocked her hands that tried to hit his face, and lifted her, but she kicked his knees in a way that made him lose balance, and he dropped her. She got up quickly and kicked him in the groin. He jumped back, and she kicked him in the stomach. He fell to the ground and she jumped on him. He threw her off him and kicked her in the side. Wincing for the pain she tried to get up again but he pushed her down again. She was starting to get really angry. She managed to get up and kick his knee from the back, hitting his nerve. He shouted and fell to the ground. She jumped again on top of him.<br>She kicked his arms so they would be too weak to push her off and held him to the ground for three long seconds. Williams was glaring at her, and she stared back.  
>"That's enough!" Up shouted, and she got off the ensign. She walked to Thomson and saluted, then to Up and saluted him too. Thomson looked defeated. Taz was walking to the door when she heard him say: "Welcome to the Academy, ensign Taz." She smirked at the anger in his voice.<br>Up followed her out of the door back to her room. When they closed the door, Up ran to her and picked her up, hugging her tightly. "You did it, Taz, I told you!" He whispered in her ear, putting her down. She felt so happy. She thought they wouldn't accept her, they would take her to the refugee camp and leave her there forever, they would never let her see Up again. But all that was just a fear, she was an ensign now, she had joined the Academy, she was a Starship Ranger. Up was staring at her. She realised she hadn't said anything, but she found she couldn't say anything.  
>She grinned widely at him, and he grinned back. "Si." She finally said. "I made it!" She ran to Up again, and he hugged her once more.<p>

* * *

><p>Up came out of Taz's room grinning. She followed him, When she'd calmed down he'd invited her to see The Karate Kid, and she'd accepted, obviously. He felt so proud. In just a week she'd got so much better, and she'd handled that ensign really well, remembering what he'd told her about the weak spots and always getting back up. He opened the door of his bedroom and she ran to the couch. He'd never seen her smiling so much, and he smiled too, he felt as happy as you could be during the Robot Wars. He picked up the remote and put on the TV, sitting next to Taz. She snuggled near to him and he put his arm around her shoulders. He'd known her for just a week but he already felt very protective of her, like she was his young sister or something like that. He kissed her forehead and she put her head on his shoulder. The movie started, but just like last time before the first half was over she'd fallen asleep. He looked down at her and smiled, pulling her closer.<br>When the film finished he carried her to his bed, and went to sleep on his couch. He woke up next morning because Taz was fighting with the coffee machine in the kitchen.  
>"Taz!" He said, and she turned to look at him. She glanced at the coffee machine in her hand, then back at Up and went back to the kitchen, realising she'd woken him up with the noise. "Sorry, Up." She said, continuing her fight with the machine. "Taz, let me do it!" He said smirking, and she glared at him. "I can do it." She said, but the coffee fell on the ground. Up was now laughing and Taz kept glaring, even as she handed him the coffee.<br>"Don't you know how to cook?" He asked her, trying to suppress his laughter. "No, I don't." Taz said, except milk and an egg, I guess." This intrigued Up. He finished making coffee and told her to have something to eat with him, without going to the hall. "The day I came to your house-" He asked carefully. "You mean the day you saved my life?" She interrupted. Up had not said that because he knew Taz hated being reminded of the fact that she couldn't handle the robots and had to be saved. "Yes." He said, and continued. "It was a party or something, right?" "Yes, it was my Quinceañera." Taz laughed, and he guessed he had a stupid expression on his face, as he didn't understand the word.  
>"Your... what?" He asked, and Taz smirked.<br>"My Quinceañera."  
>"Kinsewhat?" Taz started laughing again.<br>"You seriously don't know what a Quinceañera is?" "Never heard the word before." Up stated.  
>"Well, Up, a Quinceañera is a girl's fifteenth birthday. It's the most important birthday to celebrate because it's when a girl becomes a woman." She explained, and he felt sad. "Way of celebrating your birthday!" He told her, and she shook her head. "I hated it, every part of it." She said, and he remembered the pink dress. "I thought the pink dress didn't fit you." He said, trying to defuse the tension. She smiled. "So-" He said, going back to why he'd asked the question in the first place. "If you're a woman, shouldn't you have to know how to cook?" She smirked. "My mama wanted me to learn to cook, but I didn't want to. I spent all my free time fighting the boys that lived in my street. My mama was lucky I agreed to learn to dance for the Quincea era, even though I hated it!" "I pity your mum!" He said. "I hope I'll never have a daughter like you, it would be a nightmare!" She smacked him hard and he laughed. He realised their conversation was starting to get stupid, but it was fun. Then something beeped. Up got up and walked to his bedside table, and got up his communicator. It was Thomson. "Lieutenant Up? Over." Up looked at Taz and put a finger to his lips. Taz nodded. "Here. Over." Thomson sounded worried. "There's been another attack in Mexico. You need to go there now. Over." Up looked worried. "Now? How willl I get there in time? It took a week last time! Over." Thomson sighed. "We've got a very fast Starship to get you there, it's only for emergencies like this. Over." "I'm ready. Over." There was a short pause, before Thomson said: "Perfect. Over." Suddenly he added. "What are you going to do with ensign Taz? Over." Taz stared at Up. "What should I do with her? Over." "Take her with you. Over." Up was horrified. "Take her with me? It's too dangerous! She hardly knows how to handle a gun, I've trained her to fight without a gun for now! Over." Thomson was starting to get angry. "Lieutenant, I told you to take the ensign with you. You can teach her how to fight with a gun on the Starship, you'll have an hour. Now get a move on or you won't save anything! Over." Up was fuming. "I'm ready to go, Commander. Over." Up closed the communication and looked up at Taz. She had an expression that was divided between excitement and fear. "Come on, ensign." Up said and he and Taz ran out of his room, to the Starship dock. On the way there Up grabbed three zappers, and put two in his belt and handed one to Taz. They'd spent only one afternoon practising with a gun, and even though she could shoot, she had some problems with hitting the target. She had one hour to improve. Damn that bastard, Up though as they raced to the dock. Taz got on and strapped herself in a seat, looking around her to see who else was on this mission. Up sat next to her, and after they left the dock he guided her to the small training area the Starship had.<p> 


	5. Back In Mexico

THE WAY I DO:

Chaper 5: Back In Mexico.

A/N: So, finally there's some action! Things will get really difficult for these two soon, I hope! :D Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed, you can't imagine how happy every new review makes me!

Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: Taz, Up, G.L.E.E. belong to Team Starkid.

Song of the chapter: Take Me Away - Avril Lavigne

All the pain I thought I knew All the thoughts lead back to you Back to what was never said Back and forth inside my head I can't handle this confusion I'm unable; come and take me away

Taz sat in the back seat of the G.L.E.E.'s jeep. The Galactic League Of Extraterrestrial Exploration's job was to find new planets where to live, and they also controlled the Starship Rangers. Taz hated the people that controlled the G.L.E.E. They were all idiots, starting from one of it's most important members: Dr. Space-Claw. He wanted to become the head of the Galactic League, and was an expert in robotics. Disgusting, Taz thought.  
>She was pulled out from her thoughts when she saw a tree. A very familiar tree. She realised Up was looking at her with a pained expression on his face. She didn't say anything, even when she saw the few bricks that were all that remained of her house. She looked away after seeing a body still lying there. She didn't know who it belonged to and she didn't want to know.<br>She tried to fight the tears, but she couldn't, she just turned away from Up so he wouldn't see her like this. But she knew Up had noticed what was going on, he'd recognised the place too. He pulled her close and she buried her face in his shirt, not crying, just not wanting to see what was now behind them. Up held her until the jeep stopped. The two rangers that sat in the front jumped down and opened the door so Up and Taz could get down too.  
>They'd stopped a mile or so away from the village that the Robots had attacked, behind a hill, and continued the journey walking. Taz stopped as soon as they were in front of the village. Only a few houses were completely destroyed, most of them were on fire, or armies of Robots were marching towards them. Taz looked at Up. He was the only Lieutenant here, so he gave the orders. He looked worried. The Robots were a lot. The Rangers were only two hundred, and all ensigns. The Commander thought that by the time the Rangers got there the Robots would've started to leave, but they were still all there. The Rangers walked down to the village, then suddenly sprang to life and everything became confused. Both the Rangers and the Robots were shooting madly, and both Rangers and Robots were falling on the ground everywhere. Suddenly Taz realised Up wasn't anywhere to be found. She started to panic, looking around to find him. But out of nowhere appeared a Robot, and started shooting Taz. Taz ducked, but the Robot hit her thigh. She fell to the ground, her hands holding the wound. The Robot was about to finish her off but she found her zapper and shot the Robot quickly. She tore a piece of material from her trousers and tied it on the wound, to stop the bleding. She then got up and ran to find Up again. She couldn't find him, and was heading towards her old house, she realised in horror. That's when she saw Up. He was there, near that tree, fighting six robots by himself, and he was hurt on the left arm. Taz ran faster, not caring that she was going towards the place she hated more than anything else, she just wanted to help Up. She turned and realised she'd been running for a long time, she could hardly see the village where the others were fighting. Why had Up come here? She kept running, not even knowing how she'd managed it so far with her wound. As soon as she thought about it it started hurting like hell. "Mierda." She whispered, and nearly fell. She needed to stop thinking of the pain and concentrate on Up. Where was he?<br>He'd disappeared again in the mess. but she still realised the Robots were closing on him. A grey blur.  
>Good, he was still alive. She thought, and kept running. She'd finally reached the damned tree. "UP!" She shouted, unable to contain herself any longer. Up turned and looked at her. Their eyes met and then a robot hit Up violently, sending him flying against the tree. Taz shouted and ran to the Robots, screaming insults at them to get them to turn away from Up. "HIjos de puta! I'm here! Come and get me." She realised she was probably giving her life for Up, because there were too many and she was in no condition to fight them all.<p>

* * *

><p>Up suddenly heard a familiar voice and turned. Taz was coming towards him, running but not managing to hide completely her limp that meant she'd got hurt. Damn the Commander. Suddenly he found himself soaring through the air and felt his body slamming against the damn tree. His body ached everywhere. Then Taz started shouting again. He looked up at her, and realised she was distracting the Robots. She wanted to guide them away from him. Damn her. He tried to get up and noticed a lot of blood coming out from a wound in his calf. "Shit." He said, and used his gun as a walking stick, managing to get up. Taz was fighting the Robots. "TAZ!" He shouted, as she fell. He walked unsteadily trying to get to her, then stopped and tore off the sleeve of his shirt, using it as a tourniquet. Without all the blood coming out it was a bit easier, and he managed to get the zapper and set it to "pew" again. He started killing the Robots that stood in front of him, while they shot Taz. But as soon as he killed the first one, the others realised what was going on and half of them turned to face him, while the others kept trying to kill Taz, who had got up and was alternating between shooting, ducking, dodging and rolling on the ground when she fell. Up kept the Robots far from him, so they couldn't hit him again, but they were shooting madly and they'd already hit him a lot. Taz suddenly screamed, a terrible scream that could only mean one thing: she'd finished fighting, and she was going to die. Up went mad, all the Robots were on the ground in less than a minute and a half. As soon as they were all down Up saw Taz. She was unconscious and all covered in blood. Up was by her side in a matter of seconds, trying to contact the other Rangers. They replied and he sighed in relief. Someone was still alive.<br>"Lieutenant Up?" The other Ranger said. "Ensign, I'm with ensign Taz one mile and a half away from where you are, close to a destroyed house with a big tree. The ensign is very injured and needs medical help straight away. Get someone here now. Over." Up tried to hide the concern in his voice, but it was nearly impossible. He pulled out a very small medical kit from his belt and tried to stop the blood, although he knew the wounds were too nasty to be cured with his stupid kit. Ten minutes later no one had arrived, and Taz was starting to wake up, her wounds bandaged but still losing blood. Taz opened her eyes slowly and he looked at her. "Taz." He said, and knelt next to her holding her head. "How are you feeling?" He asked, and Taz sighed slightly. "Like mierda." She said, and he smiled weakly at her. "A medic is coming, he'll fix you up in no time." "Where are we?" Up froze. He didn't want to be the one who told her she was lying under the tree where the Robots nearly killed her, and that only ten feet away were the remainings of her house and the corpses of her family.  
>Taz tried to get up and look around, but Up gently kept her lying on the ground. "It doesn't matter" He said, and she eyed him strangely.<br>"Up." She said, wanting to sound dangerous but not having the strenght to do so.  
>Just in time a small Ranger squad reached them and Taz was picked up and layed on a small camp bed, brought by the Rangers, while Up whispered to her that she was going to be alright, all the while covering what was behind him from her view.<br>A few hours later they were back at the base and, after dropping Taz in the medical bay, Up stormed to the Commander's room.  
>"What the hell were you thinking?" He shouted as soon as the Commander told him to come in.<br>"I don't know what you mean." The Commander wasn't looking at him, just checking a map to see where the Robots were now.  
>"Sending Taz on a mission as dangerous as that after just one week of training! Have you gone mad?" Thomson looked up and said simply: "You brought her here Up, you knew what she would have to face." Up glared. "Yes, but usually Ensigns start with simple mission, they don't go off to fight Robots after just one week!" "That's enough, Lieutenant. The girl is still alive, so get out of here." Up didn't move. "Now." Up glared at the Commander again and walked out. He walked back to the the medical bay. Taz was there.<br>She'd woken up and was staring at the window. As soon as Up walked in she looked at him and smiled feebly. "How are you feeling, Taz?" He asked, sitting on the seat next to her bed. "A bit better." She replied. "Jou?" "I'm good, just angry." He told her.  
>"Why?" She asked.<br>"It's just the Commander, I think he wants to make your life like hell, because you are one of the first girls in, and definitely the youngest. He doesn't think you'll make it, and I think he doesn't want you to make it." He said, and she looked confused.  
>"Why would he?"<br>"I guess he thinks you will be a disappointement to the Academy, being a girl. Or more of something to be ashamed of." He explained.  
>"But I'm not!" Taz was stariting to get angry, he could see it in her eyes. "I know, and that is what we're going to show him, okay?" He said and she smirked.<br>"Okay."


	6. The Academy

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 6: The Academy.

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to post the 5th chapter, I've been preparing for a theatre show I did on Wednesday. I hope it's not too bad. As usual, Spanish will probably be wrong."**  
><strong>Enjoy.<strong>

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Song Of The Chapter.

Tough - Kellie Pickler

Tough; I ain't never been nothin' but tough

All my edges have always been rough

But Jesus loves me anyway;

oh, back off

There ain't nothin' wrong with a woman who got a little backbone

Although Taz had already gone on her first mission, she needed to go through the Academy to become a fully qualified Starship Ranger.  
>She was in the gym, and Up was looking at her while she punched the bag harder and harder. Her eyes showed her anger, she still was angry with the Commander for sending her on a mission one week after entering the Academy, and was even angrier because the mission had been in Mexico, near to the old house where she lived before the Robots.<br>As soon as she had recovered from that mission she'd thrown herself into training, and Up was helping her a lot.  
>Up stared at her, she'd been punching the bag for hours, her hands were bleeding and he'd begged her to stop and try running instead, but she hadn't even listened to him and had kept punching the bag. Up sighed and she collapsed to the ground in a heap. He got up and walked to her, helping her up. "Taz, you should really stop!" He took her hands in his and observed them carefully. "You're bleeding a lot, Taz." Taz glared at him but didn't try to punch the bag again. "Vamos a tener una carrera." She said, and walked out of the gym. He followed her, and she started running. He started running too.<br>"Taz, exahusting yourself like that won't help at all." She didn't reply, and ran faster.  
>Up sighed. She really was the most stubborn person he'd ever met. Two hours later Up was walking Taz to her room. "Goodnight." She said flatly, and entered her room, closing the door behind her. "Goodnight." Up whispered, and sighed. Had he done something wrong? Since Mexico Taz hardly ever spoke to him, just trained, trained, trained. He walked back to her room and lay in his bed, awake. He kept thinking about Taz, he felt like she was his little sister, someone he needed to protect, but he knew that if he told her this she would probably stab him. She was getting very good with a knife.<br>Finally, he fell asleep.

Next morning when he walked in the main hall Taz was there. With books. Up stopped as soon as he saw that. He knew you needed to do exams to become a Starship Ranger, but Taz had been concentrating only on the practical exams for the moment, so it was strange to see her with books. He walked up to her and sat next to her. "Hi Up." She said, without looking up at him. "Good morning, Taz." He said, and picked up a book to understand what she was studying.  
>"Calculus?" He said, and she banged her head on the table. "Es jodidamente imposible" She said, and he laughed.<br>"What are jou laughing at?" She glared, and he tried to stop laughing, but smirked.  
>"It's not that difficult." Taz kept glaring at him. "Come on, I'll show you how to do this." Up returned to his room that night. Taz had left half an hour earlier, but he'd stayed behind to talk with his fellow Lieutenants. He and Taz had spent hours trying to work out Calculus. It had been a nightmare. Taz was a brilliant fighter, but he really hoped she would never have to face anything that had to do with Math in her missions, because they would be a disaster. He smiled at himself.<br>Opening his door, he took a look at his room and noticed Taz sitting on the couch. "Taz?" He gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, and she looked up at him. "I was bored. I want to watch a movie." He smiled and sat next to her. "The Karate Kid?" He told her. "That would be awesome." Later that night Up was carrying a sleeping Taz to his bed, and returned to the couch as usual. The next day Up woke up on the floor. Taz was sitting on the couch again with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Good morning, Up." She said, and he looked up at her.  
>"How did I finish on the floor?" She smirked. "Jou fell while jou were sleeping." She said without looking at him. "Liar." He told her. "You pushed me down." "I'm not dat strong!" She said. "You can surely manage it while I'm sleeping!" He told her, and she threw him a cushion. "Do jou want some coffee?" She asked, and got up. "Yeah, su...wait, you don't know how to make coffee!" He laughed.<br>She turned and glared at him. "I didn't make it." She said, and walked to the table, picking up a cup and the coffee.  
>"While jou were sleeping I went down to de hall and got jou some coffee." She explained, and handed him the coffee.<br>"That explains everything, I thought it was pretty strange." He smirked. She sat next to him, and he sipped the coffee. "Only one week before your exams." He said, and she froze. "Yes." She said slowly. He knew she didn't like being reminded of it. She was scared she wouldn't pass "You'll do fine."  
>"How do jou know it?" She asked.<br>"I always get these things right, and you know it."

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Taz walked up to the stage. She'd passed all her exams, even Calculus, and she was becoming a real Starship Ranger today. She searched the Hall with her eyes and smirked when she saw how angry Thomson looked. Her eyes then found Up, and there was pride shining in his eyes when their eyes met. Another ensign next to her, Luke, was staring at her. She tried not to look at him, he'd kept staring at her since she entered the Academy, but not in a friendly way, more in a greedy way, and it was creeping her out.<br>She looked up at where the head of the Galactic League was talking. She realised she'd missed a lot, lost in her thoughts, and they were starting to call out the names of the new Rangers. "Luke Riorden." She nearly fell. It was her turn next. Luke smirked at her and walked up to receive his badge. She nearly puked. "Taz Rodriguez." Hadn't Up told them her real full name? Good. She walked up to receive her badge, and caught Up's eye. He smiled at her and she raised her head higher. The Admiral smiled at her and pinned the badge on her uniform.  
>She smiled brightly. Up was beaming. She stepped down from the podium and walked back to Up.<br>She was going to hug Up but stopped, too many people watching. They shook hands, but then Up led her out of the room.  
>"Happy now?" He asked her.<br>"De best moment of my life!" She said, and started giggling.  
>Up stared at her in shock.<br>"Are you giggling?" He asked her, and smirked. "No." She said returning serious, but started laughing again.  
>"Are you okay, Taz?" "It's... It's just..." And started laughing again. "De Commander's face..." And kept laughing. "I guess he wasn't very happy with your results!" And he started laughing too. Finally Taz ran to him and hugged him. "You're going to be great, everything will be fine." He whispered in her ear.<br>They broke the hug and stared at each other. "Jou think so?" "You're going to be the best Starship Ranger the Academy has ever seen." He told her, and she beamed. "After jou! She said. " After me." He agreed.

Taz was sitting under a tree, reading. She'd found some books in Spanish, and she'd started reading them all. Suddeny someone kicked the book and it hit Taz in the face.  
>She glared, her nose bleeding because the book had hit her really hard. "Really?" Came a voice. "You want everyone to think you're tough and then you sit under a tree reading fairytales?" Taz stood up. "Leave me alone, Luke." Luke turned and laughed with his friends. "You don't scare me, Tasaria." At this Taz tried to punch him.<br>"How do jou know my name?" "I found a book in your room with written: This book belongs to Tasaria." He smirked, and his friends laughed. "Why de hell were you in my room?" She spat, and he smirked again.  
>"I was looking for you." She was furious. "Why would jou be looking for me?" "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me." He looked at her greedily again. "No." She said, and picked her book up.<br>"What did you just say?" He said, the laugh disappearing.  
>"No, I said no." She said, turning to him. "I'm never going to go out with jou, date jou, or even touch jou! Jou disgust me." He glared at her, and pushed her against the tree. She fell and her head hit the tree. "I always get what I want." She got up again, and touched her head. It was bleeding too. "Not this time, obviously, idiota." He put his hands on her shoulders and slammed her against the tree again.<br>"We'll see, Tasaria." She glared and tried to punch him, but he was blocking her. " Vete a la mierda!" She spat, and he laughed. "Sorry, I don't speak language for idiots yet!" She went mad. She managed to free herself and she punched him hard in the stomach. He backed away slightly but threw himself against her again. She threw her to the ground and fell on top of her.  
>"I'm going to have you, Taz." "I prefer dying." Suddenly Luke was thrown off her. "What are you doing Ensign?" Up. She thought. Finally. "Why the hell were you lying on top of her?" Luke looked a lot more scared now. Up helped Taz get up.<br>"Just showing her who rules." He finally said, trying to sound brave.  
>"Really?" Up said, He looked furious. "And who would that be? You?" He asked, angrier than before. "Yes." Luke said, and raised his head to look at Up.<br>"Listen to me, Riorden." Up spat. "You are an en-sign. So you don't have the right to go around bossing other ensigns. Understand?" Up finished. "No." Luke said, and smirked. "Taz, hop on my back." Taz looked at Up, and he grinned. He pulled her on his back and turned to face Luke again. "You are an ensign, Riorden, while I'm a Lieutenant. That means I can boss ensigns around any day, while you can't." He looked Up at Taz, but she was glaring at Luke so she hardly noticed. "You better run, ensigns." Up concluded, and ran after the boys, running them straight to the dumpsters. Luke was the first one to finish in them, followed by his friends.  
>"This doesn't end here!" Luke shouted from inside the dumpster. "I think it does!" Up replied, and dropped Taz. He then noticed that her white tank top had some red stains on it.<br>"Taz?" He suddenly said. "Are you bleeding?" She touched her head. When she looked at her hand it was all red. "Yes, you are." He said, and helped her get to the medical bay.

**Does this suck? Do tell :)**


	7. Fighting the Robots again

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 7: Fighting the Robots again.

**A/N: Ok, I have a writer's block and I don't know what will turn out of these next chapters, because I have big plans for the future but not for now. D: I hope it'll still come out good.**

Song Of The Chapter:

Be Strong - Delta Goodrem

'cause when you're in your darkest hour

And all of the light just fades away

and When you're like a single flower whose colours have turned to shades of gray

We'll hang on and be strong

Taz walked down the corridors of the new Starship. A week after the Luke accident she'd been assigned and as a first mission they were going to enter the base where the Robots kept their information.  
>She finally found an empty room and entered it. It had a big window that looked down at the Earth that they were leaving.<br>Taz fell in one of the seats and stared out of the window. She thought back to everything that had happened since her Quincea era. Up. Her mission back in Mexico. Up. The Academy. Up. The ceremony when she became an official Starship Ranger. Up. Calculus. Luke. Up.  
>Up seemed to appear a lot in her life lately. He'd been the only reason for which she had survived, for which she'd entered the Academy, for which she'd become a Starship Ranger. She owed everything to him, and she didn't know if she could ever pay him back.<br>He'd helped her a lot also during the exams. The first week she'd had her practical exams, so they'd tested her strenght, agility; they wanted to know perfectly well what were her techniques in a fight, her weak points, and her tricks. Finally she had to fight an old Lieutenant, but that had been pretty easy because he was strong but she was much faster. Well, he nearly broken her nose and her arm, but she'd managed to block him on the floor and would've punched him unconscious if Up (who'd been watching the exam) hadn't stopped her. Up had then been there to comfort her and reassure her that she would pass the all the exams, and before she knew it she was onto the written exams. Again, Up had been there before every exam to tell her it would be fine. Obviously, the last exam was Calculus. Taz didn't sleep that night, and the next morning she almost killed Up with her knife. Up tried to calm her but she was just going mad. Finally she entered the exam room, and that had given Up a bit of a break. When she came out two hours later she looked exhausted, but there was something in her eyes that told him she hadn't failed completely. She refused to talk about the exam until the results were out, and until then Up had been there comforting her.  
>Yes, he'd definitely been the only thing that had kept her alive. And now she'd been assigned to the Starship where he was Lieutenant.<br>On one hand she was glad, being next to him always gave her more strenght and will to fight, but on the other hand she didn't want to disappoint him, what would happen if they sent them on yet another mission in Mexico? She didn't think she would be able to take it.  
>Suddenly the door opened behind her. "Taz, what are you doing in here?" Up's voice. Speak of the devil. She turned, stared at him for five seconds and then went back to looking out of the window. "I just wanted to spend some time alone before going on another mission." Up walked towards her and sat in the seat next to her. "Can I stay here?" He asked, and she nodded. Before she could say something he spoke.<br>"Are you scared of going on missions?" He said, and she turned to look at him.  
>"Obviously not! I want to destroy and kill all de hijos de puta dat I can!" She said angrily. "So what's the problem?" He insisted. Damn him. Lying was useless with him.<br>"I'm not scared of going on a mission and fighting Robots, I'm afraid of not managing to kill Robots." She sighed. "What if I'm de only one who can save a young ensign but I don't get dere on time? And he dies because I wasn't fast enough? I want to fight and kill every damned Robot I can, I just don't think I'm able to!" "Listen to me, Taz." Up said and, putting his hands on her shoulders, turned her so she was facing him. "You are a great fighter and I'm sure you're going to kick the Robots' asses without problem, but in case you're in trouble: do you know the expression 'To laugh in the face of danger'? That is what you're supposed to do. When you're fighting you just can't think 'Damn, I'm about to die.' You have to keep fighting until the last moment, because if you've already decided to give up you will never win. So you've got to laugh in the face of danger, keep going until the end." Up explained, and she kept staring into his blue eyes.  
>"Jou think I can do dat?" She asked uncertainly.<br>"I'm absolutely sure you can do that." He said, and got up. "Come on, let's join the others, we have to go over the plan." He smiled at her and she smiled back, getting up. "Okay."She said, and walked out.

* * *

><p>They'd been going over the plan for hours. Finally the planet where they were landing had come into sight and they were preparing to get off the Starship. Up was standing next to Taz as they kept their eyes on the screen from which they were observing the Robots. Taz was trembling slightly but had a fierce look in her eyes.<br>"It'll be okay." He whispered in her ear. She nodded. Up was worried for her. If she lost concentration because of her fear of messing up she would be in grave danger. He had to keep an eye on her, he couldn't afford to lose her. With a jolt, he realised they'd landed. He watched as Taz pulled the zapper off her shoulder and he pulled his from the belt. "Ok everyone." Commander Rivera said. Like Taz, she was Mexican, and that was probably why she wanted Taz in her team.  
>"You know what to do. Lieutenant Up will take his squad into the Robot base, while my squad will distract the Robots from the outside, so when they come out we will be on all sides and it will be easier to take them down. Go!" She concluded, and everyone sped off in different groups. Up turned to check his squad. Taz was right behind him. "Come on." He told her, and guided the squad to the entrance of a dark tunnel. "Alright guys. You know what we'll do. Taz, me, James, Alice, Nick and Rachel will go first. We'll reach the West side of the base and Nick and Alice will deactivate the computers. You'll come in as soon as we're in and create a diversion on the East side. Then we'll meet in the Center and drive the Robots forward with the explosions. Go! Good luck everyone!" Up finished, and sped off with Taz and the others. They reached the West side quickly, Unfortunately, there were fifteen Robots guarding the room where the computers were. "Okay team." Up said. "We need to get in there quickly. Let's wait for the explosion on the other side..." He stopped. The other squad was being pulled forward from some Robots.<br>"We fo-und the-se pu-ny hu-mans sne-aking on the o-ther si-de of the ba-se." The metallic voice of a Robot reached them. "Kill them." Another voice said, and a secret door opened and the squad was pulled inside. "Kill them." Up repeated, and his squad sprang to life and ran to the Robots, shooting and shouting. Up obviously killed most of the Robots, but Taz and the other Rangers were still very good. Taz was furious, she was probably remembering all that the Robots had put her through and wanted to destroy every single one she could. Up felt a pang in his chest. At the beginning he didn't realise what it was, then while he was killing one of the last Robots he understood. As he watched Taz shoot another one he realised he kind of felt hurt when Taz thought of her past with the Robots because without them he wouldn't have ever met her. When he understood this he stopped, and a Robot shot him. Everything became a blur. Then Taz's voice. It sounded like she was hurt.  
>"What de hell was dat all about, jou idiota?" She said, and he got up. Somehow he'd fallen to the ground. Alice shot the last Robot.<br>Taz was on the ground, clutching her leg with a bleeding hand. He was by her side in two seconds, together with all the Rangers as soon as they saw Taz.  
>"Taz!" He said, and she glared at him. "Why de hell didn't jou shoot dat Robot? Why did jou stop?" She said. He shook his head.<br>"Deja v or something..." He whispered, knowing fully well he sounded lame and she didn't believe him.  
>"Why did you save me?" He asked.<br>"Jou saved my life more dan once, I had to do it." She replied. Up then checked her wound. "Luckily they didn't it you very hard, we'll take you to the medical bay and..." He was about to finish but Taz interrupted him.  
>"No! Not again!" She protested, and tried to get up. "Alice, Nick. Get in there and destroy the damned computers." The Rangers got up and saluted, opening the door and entering. "Rachel, James. Find a way of getting in there, we need to save the guys." Suddenly a defeaning scream came from the other side of the wall. Taz looked at Up. "Up, jou need me in dere." She said, and he shook his head, but didn't feel convinced. He definitely couldn't leave her out here by herself.<br>"Taz..." "Give me jour damn medical kit and help dem get in dere." Up looked uncertain but he knew she was right. He opened the small pocket in his belt and passed the medical kit. He then glanced at Taz again and got up.  
>Then Rachel gasped. "Here, Lieutenant, here!" She said. Up walked towards her and stared at the wall. There stood a small handle perfectly covered in rocks. He noticed Taz was next to him. "On the count of three." Up whispered. They had to go all together, they didn't know how the room on the other side looked like so they couldn't sneak in one at a time. "One... Two... Three." They opened the door and everything turned to hell.<p>

* * *

><p>As soon as Taz entered the room the Robots started shooting at them crazily. She ducked and fell to the ground, pulling herself forward until she reached the wall where another new Ensign, Susan, was tied. Taz looked at her. There was blood coming out of a cut on her temple and her arms and legs were scratched, her clothes all torn. She heard Up's voice ordering the other Rangers forward, and hell moved to the center of the room. Taz cut the ropes binding Susan's arms and legs and helped her get up. "Are you okay?" Susan shook her head and fell to the ground again. Taz catched her just in time, and put her gently on the ground. "Just stay here, I'm going to help the others." She checked her own wound before getting up and starting shooting. "Taz!" Up's shout shook her out of the universe of anger she went in when fighting Robots. She spun around to find him. He and the rest of their squad was cornered and the Robots were raising their guns. Taz managed to recover from her state of shock pretty quickly, only to go back there when she noticed that Up was standing in front of the other Rangers defending them, ready to sacrifice himself. Their eyes met.<br>She realised she didn't have one second to wait. She had to save him. She didn't know what was happening inside her but she had to save Up. She started shooting madly at the Robots, not even asking for help from the Rangers from the other team that were starting to get up and find their zappers. The Robots all turned towards her dangerously. 'You've got to laugh in the face of danger...' Up's voice came back to her suddenly. She started laughing, thinking she'd finally lost her reason. "Come on, hijos de puta! Come and get me!" The Robots raised their guns. This was it. This was the end. She didn't know what to do, so she started laughing again, but there was an edge of nervousness in her laugh now.  
>"Try and touch her and I swear I'll kill you all." Up. He was there for her again.<br>The Robots this time didn't turn all together. Five remained facing Taz and the other five turned to Up. Taz kept her gun raised, and looked at Up. He grinned at her and nodded.  
>She noticed a few other Rangers had come to her side, so the Robots were trapped. "Now." Up's voice was hardly more than a whisper. Taz grinned and started shooting.<p>

* * *

><p>Up was carrying Taz bridal-style back to the Starship. One of the last shots of the Robots had hit her on the leg again, and she'd collapsed to the ground, not managing to move anymore.<br>"You did great." Up told her, and she smiled. "Thank jou. I was just listening to what jou told me." He kissed her forehead. Then grinned.  
>"I know, but it looked like you'd lost your mind when you started laughing in there." She smiled.<br>"I knew I had lost my mind dere." They were back at the Starship.  
>"What happened to her?" Commander Rivera asked, as soon as she saw Up carrying Taz, and rushed towards them.<br>"She fought really well. But they shot her twice in the same leg." The Commander seemed exahusted. What had happened to her team? Taz saw some Rangers here and there, but they didn't seem enough. Up anticipated her question.  
>"What happened here?" He asked, concerned, and the Commander sighed. "You didn't push the Robots out, so we had to get in. They set us a trap. They knew we were here because of you, but after the Robots you killed there they didn't send anymore to the Computer Room because they were all fighting us. We were a big team, we even called reinforcements, but we didn't manage it. As soon as we saw your team come out from the back we retreated, but most of my Rangers were dead." She said, and her voice broke.<br>"I'm so sorry." Up said, and they heard someone sob. Up turned and the ten Rangers that remained from the squad that would've had to create the diversion were all crying or looking ashamed. Commander Rivera looked up at them. "It's not your fault, ensigns." She said, trying to comfort them. "Yes, it is." Susan said flatly. "If we'd managed to create the diversion Lieutenant Up and his squad wouldn't have had to come and save us, and everything would've gone following the plan. "You were trapped by the Robots, there was no way you could've made it out." The Commander said and turned, walking back to the Starship. "Come on, Rangers." Up said, and they followed the Commander. As soon as they were back on the Starship Up carried Taz to the medical bay and set her on a bed. Doctors were all around her in a matter of seconds, checking the wound and fetching everything they needed. She looked at Up, and he stared back. "Don't go." She said, feeling weak but knowing she couldn't make it on her own.  
>"I'm not going anywhere." He said, and sat on the chair beside her bed, holding her hand.<p>

**A/N: Was that good enough? I hope so.**

**On another note, I had an idea yesterday night. I wanted to put together my favourite couple (Taz and Up) with one of my favourite books (The Hunger Games) having the two of them enter the Arena and be the star-crossed lovers. Is it something I should publish or is it just too stupid? Please let me know.**

**Until next time. :)**


	8. The Big Plan

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 8: The big plan.

A/N: Okay, so I decided to take my computer on holiday, and everytime I have two seconds I go back to writing. As soon as I find an Internet connection I'll post all the Chapters I have.

Song of the chapter:

Run - Leona Lewis

Louder louder And we'll run for our lives I can hardly speak I understand Why you can't raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes Makes it so hard not to cry And as we say our long goodbye I nearly do

Up was sleeping in the chair next to Taz's hospital bed. They'd realised the second laser had hit the leg right in the middle of her thigh, so it the leg was now broken. She'd fallen asleep after the first operation, and he'd refused to go back to his room. As soon as they'd reached Earth they'd carried her to the medical bay of the Headquarters, and Up had stayed with Taz for every single second.  
>Something in the bed next to him stirred. He opened his eyes slowly and realised Taz was waking up. "Are you feeling better?" He asked and she turned, trying to focus her attention on him, although she was still sleepy. She shook her head.<br>"You did great in there, Taz." He said, and she seemed awake now. "If it were up to me you would already be promoted as Junior Lieutenant, but I think you have to have been a Starship Ranger for at least three month..." She sighed. Why wasn't she talking? Was there something wrong with her?  
>"But I'm sure sooner or later you'll become Lieutenant, and probably even Commander!" He said, trying to cheer her up. She smiled.<br>"Jou think I'll make it?" She asked. Thank God, she was okay.  
>"You'll surely make it! Not everyone would've had the courage to keep fighting after getting shot in the leg, let alone trying to sacrifice themselves for other Rangers!" He said, and her eyes shined. Then she blushed.<br>"What's wrong?" He asked, but she shook her head. "Nothing." She said, and shook her head again. "What do you want to do when you get out of here?" He knew he had to change subject, even though she was hiding something. "Sleep." She said, and turned the other way. He smiled and settled back in his chair. Later that evening, the doctors convinced Up to get out of the hospital and go back to his room. All the way there he kept thinking about Taz. There was something wrong with her, he thought that when he asked what she wanted to do she would say 'Go to the gym and practice", and sleep wasn't an answer he thought he would get from her. But she was probably just stressed, it had only been a month or so since her arrival at the Academy and they were already torturing her. He knew she wanted to be tested and fight Robots, but once she was in bed with a bad wound she could just relax and sleep for a while. Up went to Taz's room every day, and they would watch a movie and play games, or Taz would teach Up how to speak Spanish properly, because he understood it but couldn't speak it.  
>Three weeks later Taz had finally recovered, not fully, but she could get out of the hospital and go on missions again. Up was walking Taz back to her room when they ran into Commander Rivera. "Get ready, guys, we're in big trouble." She said, and she looked really scared.<br>"What's happening?" Taz asked, and Up looked at her. "The Robots have found us. We're trapped inside." Up looked back at the Commander. "What? What do they want?" He said, and Taz nodded, wanting to know the answer. "Nothing from here, they just want to kill us all." Up looked at the Commander, bewildered. "They came here and staged an enourmous attack just to kill us?" He asked, but the Commander shook her head.  
>"It's not 'just' to kill us. If they kill us there won't be as many Rangers defending the main base where we have all our information." Rivera explained, and Taz sighed. "Do they plan on entering the building or do they just want to blow us up?" Taz asked, looking at the Commander and then at Up.<br>"Blow us up. That's why we're proceding with the looks like they've divided the base in different areas and they will blow up every sector one at a time, but we haven't worked out why. They could just blow everything up but want to do it bit by bit." The Commander said. Taz had a look of fear mixed with confusion and anger on her face, and then determination changed her features.  
>"Let's get the others of our squad and let's get the hell out of here." Up said, and Taz nodded. Then she ran to him and hugged him. "Good luck." She whispered, and he hugged her tighter. "We'll get this job done too, Taz." He whispered back, and let go. "Come on." They rushed down the corridors and to the weapon section, where they got some zappers. After checking that they were charged and set to 'pew' they ran to call the other Rangers. That's when the first bomb exploded.<p>

Taz looked around in shock. The first section of the head-quarters (not counting the secret base, that was the most important of the Rangers' bases) had exploded. She and Up exchanged a look and kept running, this time heading for the exit. They didn't know what part would be next, and they had to get out of there. Another explosion, this time closer.  
>"Damn it." Up whispered, and came closer to Taz, as they kept running. She whipped her head around as she heard another noise, and the wall next to them blew up. Taz flew in the air and crashed against the opposite wall. "Up!" She shouted, panicking. "I'm here." He replied, and came next to her. Then they heard a scream. Susan walked unsteadily out of one of the exploded rooms, and collapsed in front of Taz. "Susan!" Taz said, and pulled her up. "Jou were in dere?" She said, and Susan looked at her. "Yes, with James." The other girl replied, but her voice broke on James's name.<br>Taz looked at Up, whose expression showed pain, but it was quickly replaced with determination. "As I already said, we need to get out of here." He shouted at the girls, and they all rushed towards the exit. They were getting to the door when everything in front of them exploded again. "Come on! This way!" Taz screamed, and ran as fast as she could. They were all going to die, she knew it. Suddenly she stopped, and looked around. There was fire on every side except in front of them, but there was the wall and a lot of smoke. Up walked to the wall and opened a door that was half hidden by smoke. "Come on, dammit!" Up shouted, and Taz pulled Susan with her. Up leaded them through tight corridors, and then they stopped in front of a flight of stairs.  
>"Are jou all okay?" Taz asked, and Up nodded, while Susan collapsed to the ground. "Come on!" Taz helped Susan up and they looked at Up. He ran down the stairs and they followed him. The stairs finally finished and they found themselves running in a big hall where other Rangers were screaming, shouting or trying to find a way out. Up kept running towards a small door and opened it, stepping out of the building just in time. Another explosion, this time bigger. Taz looked at the building. The gym had exploded, and the Commanders were shouting orders to evacuate the building. "Run!" Taz shouted, and taking Susan by the hand they ran as far away as they could from the exploding building. Other Rangers were running from the building or trying to shoot down the few Robots that had stayed behind after the first explosion. Taz turned and noticed an enourmous Autobot coming behind them. Susan fell to the ground, tripping on a stone. "Shoot him!" Taz shouted at Up, and they both started charging against the Robot. Even though they were shooting madly the Robot's steps didn't falter, and he kept coming towards them. Taz ran to Susan and helped her up, while Up fought the Robot. The two girls stopped and stared at him. Then the Robot slapped him away and he flew towards the base, that was now all on fire. "Up!" Taz screamed, and ran towards him, noticing only to late that Susan stood without moving in front of the Robot. "No!" Taz shouted, and started shooting the Robot from behind, but he didn't turn.<br>Susan pulled her zapper out and started shooting too, but the Robot didn't even flinch. He picked Susan up and pointed his gun towards her. It was a flash, and Susan fell to the ground. Taz ran towards her, time stopping. She didn't know who she had to help first, she hardly noticed Up getting up and running towards the Autobot and then heard Up cry out. He'd been as quick as he could and had shot the Robot's hand, so that Susan would be freed, but the Robot had picked him up with the other hand. Susan was still alive, so Taz ran towards Up. She knew she had to do what Up had done, shooting the hand, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. What if she hit Up? "Do it!" Up's voice came loud and clear, even through the noise that filled her ears. So she did it. She shot the Robot's hand.  
>She didn't realise what she'd hit, and the hand exploded, while Up dropped to the ground. He'd missed the explosion for two inches.<br>"Up!" She shouted again, and reached his body quickly. Susan was next to her too. He opened his right eye. "Good shot." He said weakly, and she noticed his left eye was badly cut. "Keep it shut." She ordered, and tore off a piece of her shirt and tied it over his eye. "Are jou hurt in any other places?" She asked. "No, just my whole body is aching." He whispered, and she smiled.  
>"My one too." She replied, brushing the hair out of the cloth tied on his eye. She realised Susan had got up and was staring at the base. Taz helped Up up and they walked over to her. And the biggest bomb went off. It blew up the small remainings of the building, and everything that went for the next fifteen metres from the building, including lots of the Rangers that were trying to escape. Taz ran forward and helped some Rangers who were walking slowly out of the smoke that filled an enourmos area in front of the building. Susan started crying, and Taz put a hand on her shoulder. She noticed that Up wasn't by her side anymore, and turned just in time to see him finish off the Robot, who'd been pretty useless without his hands. It fell to the ground with a big thud and went perfectly still. All the Robots had gone away now, and Starships were starting to get here to take the survivors to another base where they would be safe. Susan was still crying, but Taz had moved and was going to see how many Rangers had come out of the trap alive. She met Commander Thomson and Rivera, Rachel and Nick. She knew James had died, and possibly Alice too. She sighed. The Robots had really gone too far this time. She knew it was a revenge for what had happened at their hide-out, but she had to find out why the Robots had managed to put the bombs in the base without anyone noticing. She had to.<p>

A/N: Was this too exhaggerated? I really wanted something even more dramatic than the things that happened before this, but now I think I'm going to calm things down a bit. The idea for what happened here came to me while I was listening to 'Shutting Down Grace's Lab" from the Avatar soundtrack, so that's why there's so much tragedy here and that's why I'm sure it looks like Avatar a bit. I know some of the characters who died weren't really known so it wasn't too much of a loss, but I had to kill some of them. Do you like this? I wouldn't mind reviews ;) Please let me know what you think about this. 


	9. Other Problems

THE WAY I DO

Chapter 9: Other problems.

Song of the chapter:

Cascada - Dangerous

You're so dangerous,

Or is it too late,

Gotta know what's on you mind

I'm out of control, cause you want it all.

You're so dangerous!

* * *

><p>Up and Taz sat in one of the Starships together. Susan was still crying, while Rachel and Nick tried to comfort her. Taz suspected she was crying more for James than for everyone else. She knew Susan had a secret crush on him, and now she would never be able to tell him. Taz sighed and looked at Up.<p>

His eyes showed a lot of pain too, he'd known most of the people who'd died. The Robots had really done things well this time, she had to admit it.

She guessed that Susan was also crying because she felt like this was her fault, because if they hadn't messed things up when they'd tried to attack the Robots, the Robots wouldn't have wanted revenge.

But she was sure they would've done it anyway, who knows how long the bombs had been there waiting for the right time to explode.

But why had the Robots come to the base? They could've just watched while everything exploded, but no, they'd come closer, so probably they'd just set the bombs. But how could it be that no one had noticed them?

She was about to tell Up about this when someone walked in.  
>Then she heard a laugh she knew too well.<p>

"Hey Tasaria!"

Luke. Shit. She didn't turn, just kept staring out of the window. The only person she wanted to watch die was still here. Luke stopped in front of her and stared at her and Up.

"Why do you always follow the Commander everywhere? Are you his pet or his girlfriend?" Taz felt herself blush.

"I'm going to killl that hijo de puta." She whispered to Up, who'd nearly blushed himself and was staring ferociously at Luke.

"I'm not his pet, nor his girlfriend." She said dangerously, getting up to face Luke.

"So why don't you hang out with me?" He said, smirking.

"You need a boyfriend, Tas..." She punched him right on the mouth before he could say her full name again. She realised she'd broken his front tooth. She smirked.

"Get de hell away from me, Luke." She said calmly, staring at him.

He was touching his mouth, then he smirked. He cleaned the blood from his mouth and kept staring at Taz with that stupid smirk on his face.

"You can't fight me for long, Tazzie." His friends behind him laughed.

"Jou know why I won't go out with jou?" She spat. "Because jou're an arrogant, bullying idiota." He laughed.

"I don't think I am." He sneered, and moved towards Taz.

Taz noticed that Susan had come next to her, and as Taz stepped away from Luke, Susan moved between them.

"Leave her alone." She said angrily, but Luke laughed again.

"What?" He said. "Two girls want to scare me?" He looked at Susan and Taz with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Now, Susan, get out of my way." He said, whispering but somewhat angrily. Up had got up too and was standing next to Susan, both shielding Taz from him.

Taz decided she wasn't going to be protected by her friends when she could do it alone. She pushed between Susan and Up and stood directly in front of Luke.

"Eschucha me, idiota. I don't want to see jour fucking face in front of me anymore. I can't stand jou. Jou're not good-looking..." Taz spat at him, but he interrupted her.

"Like Up?" He laughed. Taz wanted to punch him again. She started to swing her fists together nervously.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Face!" She shouted and he stepped closer.

"You're not very nice with people, Tazzy."

Up shook his head dangerously, a movement that Taz understood meant: don't go too far, idiot. But Luke obviously didn't get it. Then he grabbed her by the hair and kissed her. She wasn't expecting that.

She froze for two seconds, before starting to punch him on the chest and trying to pull away. But. even though she was faster, he was stronger and wouldn't let go. His hands had found her waist and were starting to move up her shirt. She punched harder, but something pulled Luke away from the other direction. Up.

"What was that, ensign?" He said. Taz had never seen him so angry and dangerous.

Taz backed out of Luke's reach as he smirked. Why did he always smirk? What did he find so funny? Taz realised her mouth of full of blood, Luke's blood, and nearly puked.

"Can't you see she wants to be left alone? Some of her friends died today." Up was saying to Luke. who was now nearly laughing.

Taz spat the blood out of her mouth and walked towards Luke, stopping next to Up.

"And can't you see she wants you?"

Luke said, nearly spitting the last word.

"No, I don't."

Taz said quickly.

"Relationships between ensigns and Lieutenants aren't allowed." Up stated coldly, and Taz nodded.

"Well, I'm an ensign and she's an ensign, so I don't know what all these problems are." Luke said, and made a move towards Taz again, but was stopped by Up.

"Fuck off." Taz said, and turned towards Rachel and Nick, who were staring at the scene.

"You know I always get what I want!"

Luke shouted, but she just ignored him.  
>Up walked to a seat far away from Taz, but close enough to reach her quickly if Luke made a move again. Susan was asking Taz if everything was alright, but she wasn't really listening. She just nodded.<br>Were those things about Taz liking Up true? She didn't know, but they couldn't be. She'd sweared to herself she'd never love anyone because she just risked losing them like she'd lost her family. But she knew she was already too close to Up, even though they were only friends. I'm not in love with anyone, she decided. There are more important things to do, and I will do them.

* * *

><p>Two hours later they reached the base, and Taz walked off the Starship without waiting for anyone. She walked to the room she'd been assigned to, and locked the door as soon as she was in the room. She hated Luke. Now she couldn't hang out with Up anymore without being embarassed. Even if what Luke thought wasn't true, it was still embarassing. Damn him! She finally decided, and picked up one of the books that were on the bed. Fighting exercises. Couldn't they have something more interesting? She would normally read books like these, but now she wanted something to relax, stories or stuff. A knock on the door.<p>

"Taz?"

Why was Up here? She wanted to send him away but didn't manage. She walked to the door and opened it. "Hi Up." She said flatly, and moved from the door so he could come in.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and walked to the bed.

"Sì." She said, and sat on the desk.

She didn't want to talk about the damn kiss. Her first damn kiss, if you didn't count the ones when she was three with her classmates when she was small.

"If he tries to... kiss you again, let me know. I'll beat the living hell out of him." He said, and she looked at him.

"Why...?" She asked. She wanted to say she could do it by herself, but he stopped her.

"I didn't bring you here so you could get bullied by guys like Luke!" He said, and she stared at him.

It didn't seem like a very good excuse, she could handle the bullying perfectly well.

"I'm talking the Admiral into making you Junior Lieutenant, you already did a lot, but they still don't seem convinced. We will see what's the next thing to do."

"If I'm Lieutenant de relationship is illegal." She said, and he nodded.

"What's de next mission?" She asked. She couldn't wait to become Lieutenant, if it meant getting rid of Luke.

"I don't know. Probably a peaceful mission, they want to recover, hundreds of Rangers died yesterday." He explained, and sighed. She got up.

"If jou don't mind Up, I'm quite tired." She said, and she really felt tired. Up probably saw it on her face, because he got up.

"See you tomorrow, Taz. Rest for a while." He said, and walked out. Taz sighed and fell on the bed, falling asleep straight away.

* * *

><p>Up was walking back from Taz's room, feeling very tired himself. But, as he turned the corner, he nearly bumped into Luke.<p>

"Where are you coming from, Lieutenant?" Luke said, and Up nearly followed Taz's example by punching him.

"I don't think you can ask questions, ensign." Luke smirked. "Take that smirk off your face, ensign." Up said, and Luke tried to return serious, but was still smirking.

"You want her, don't you?" Luke said, and Up nearly punched the wall so he wouldn't punch Luke.

"No, she's my friend, that's all. And it will stay that way." Up said, knowing it was true.

"And what will happen when she becomes Lieutenant too?" Luke taunted.

"We'll always stay friends. I don't think of her that way, understood?" Up said calmly, finally succeding in calming himself.

"So I can have her?" Luke continued. "No, because she doesn't want you. And she deserves someone obviously better than you." Up said, and Luke's face fell.

"Better than me?" He said dangerously.

"Much better than you." Up continued, nearly smirking at Luke's anger.

"I'll get her, I always get what I want." Luke said, and walked away.

What an idiot, Up thought, and went back to his room.

A/N: I'm sorry, I had to do this. I know it happens in every long fan fiction about Taz and Up, but I'm not going to write a story where everything goes perfectly well, because something like that hardly ever happens. And problems don't end here. R&R :)


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